Shipping

How to Make Free Shipping Profitable, Part 2
January 22, 2020 at 3:32 pm

The internet has made price comparisons very easy for consumers. This has compelled many merchants to compete aggressively on price. Often the lowest price wins the Buy Box on marketplaces such as Amazon.com and comparison shopping sites like Google Shopping and PriceGrabber. This puts immense pressure on sellers to set a “just right” price that's…

Amazon Lifts Ban on FedEx Ground Delivery for its Third-Party Sellers
January 16, 2020 at 12:38 pm

Amazon.com has lifted its ban on FedEx Ground delivery for its third-party sellers, resuming service on Tuesday, reports CNBC. The e-commerce giant temporarily suspended FedEx's Ground delivery for Prime shipments last month, citing poor delivery performance, which caught many of its sellers off guard during the busy holiday season. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that…

Will Drop-Shipping Still Be a Viable Business Model in 2020?
January 8, 2020 at 3:05 pm

For many years, drop-shipping was touted as the best possible business model for online entrepreneurs who wanted to start lucrative, yet lean businesses from the convenience of their own homes. But with so much saturation, is it still a profitable idea? What is Drop-Shipping? According to Shopify, “drop-shipping is a retail fulfillment method where a…

How to Make Free Shipping Profitable, Part 1
January 8, 2020 at 2:42 pm

Free and fast shipping is the name of the game now. It has become a table stakes to satisfy your online customers. While shipping may be free for the customer, merchants have to absorb the costs. But the question remains: How can you do it profitably? We've put together the ultimate collection of strategies and…

2020 Retail Outlook: Free and Fast Shipping Will Go Hand-in-Hand
January 6, 2020 at 11:12 am

For years, online shoppers prioritized free shipping over fast delivery by a wide margin. High shipping costs were a top cause of abandoned online shopping carts, and consumers would add items to their carts to qualify for free shipping thresholds. Today, “free” still trumps “fast,” as more than half of shoppers say free shipping is…

UPS vs. FedEx: A Comparison of On-Time Delivery Performance This Holiday Season
December 19, 2019 at 10:29 am

For week 49, on-time performance from both UPS and FedEx dropped significantly. FedEx is at 91 percent, while UPS is at 87.5 percent, compared to a 95 percent-plus rate in week 48 for both carriers. This should come as no surprise since week 49 is the first inclusion of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shipments.…

Amazon Blocks Sellers From Using FedEx Ground for Prime Shipments
December 17, 2019 at 10:51 am

Amazon.com is blocking its third-party sellers from using FedEx's ground delivery network for Prime shipments, citing a decline in performance heading into the final stretch of the holiday shopping season. The ban on using FedEx’s Ground and Home services starts this week and will last “until the delivery performance of these ship methods improves,” according…

Redefining the ‘F’ Word: Do Shoppers Want Fast or Free Shipping?
December 12, 2019 at 12:45 pm

As we enter the home stretch of the holiday season, should small to midsize businesses (SMBs) even try to compete with one-to-two-day delivery times? According to a new study from ShipStation, there’s still hope to win shoppers over — even if retailers can’t afford speedy deliveries (and it doesn’t require a Christmas miracle). Shipping Cost Outweighs Everything,…

Prime Day Lessons Retailers Can Apply to Their Holiday Shipping Plans
December 5, 2019 at 2:24 pm

This holiday season it’s all about fast and free shipping of online orders. Therefore, in an exclusive interview with Total Retail, Carson Krieg, co-founder and director of carrier operations at Convey, Inc., discusses the lessons from Amazon Prime Day that merchants can apply to the upcoming holiday peak season. Carson Krieg,…